“Turbo” Terry Flanagan is set to go Supersonic in his mega-fight against Derry Mathews next month after gaining a celebrity fan in Oasis legend Noel Gallagher. The undefeated WBO Lightweight titlist met boxing fan Gallagher at the recent Arsenal-Manchester City Premier League clash and was knocked out meeting his idol for the first time.

Flanagan, who makes the the second defense of his title against Liverpool rival Mathews on Saturday February 13th at the Echo Arena, was rocked even more when Gallagher suggested changing his nickname to the Oasis hit song because of his thrilling, relentless, all-action style. Gallagher was a keen supporter of British great Ricky Hatton in his heyday and believes that Flanagan can become just as big as the “Hitman”.

Flanagan had this to say: “He’s a superstar and hero of mine but he’s still just a regular, down to earth, Manchester lad like me who loves music and football.

“I love Oasis’s music and use it to train to in the gym, classics like ‘Supersonic’ really gets my blood pumping for a fight, in fact he said I should replace my Turbo nickname with Supersonic because of the way I fight.

“Noel was a big fan of Ricky Hatton in his fighting days’ and said that I’m the new Ricky Hatton who can bring the much needed excitement in the sport just like Ricky did, which is big compliment.

“He said he’s looking forward to my fight against Mathews just like he looks forward to a Man City match against Liverpool, he’s really rocking for me to beat Mathews.

“I can’t wait for my fight with Mathews next year and I’ve got the perfect Oasis track for him when I’ve beaten him, ’Stop Crying Your Heart Out’.”

Noel Gallagher has topped this week's Vinyl Singles Chart with his High Flying Birds track 'The Dying Of The Light'.

The Official UK Charts Company introduced the Vinyl Charts earlier this year with Underworld's tribute to the late Frankie Knuckles, 'Baby Wants To Ride' taking the first Number One position in the Singles Chart.

This week sees Gallagher beat New Order to the top spot, with the Manchester band's 'Tutti Frutti' at Number Two.

The production team behind the Senna and Amy feature documentaries have turned their attention to one of Manchester's iconic bands and will look back on their early years - and they're asking friends and family of the Gallagher brothers for help.

Makers of an Oasis documentary that features new interviews with both Noel and Liam Gallagher, are reaching out to friends and fans of the band for rare archive material to help tell the group’s story.

Oasis - The Rock ’N’ Roll Band That Defined A Generation will chart the band’s history from their childhood in Burnage and through their early gigs up to the shows that defined them: Knebworth, in 1996, in front of quarter of a million fans over two nights.

The producers - the team behind acclaimed documentaries Senna and Amy - are not only keen to paint a picture of the band’s lives together but also of the community they grew up in.

And in particular they’re asking people to poke around in their attics and cupboards for any home movies of the boys in a school nativity play, which mum Peggy Gallagher fondly recalls.

The Mat Whitecross feature documentary, which will be released to cinemas in 2016, is produced by James Gay Rees (Senna/Amy), Fiona Neilson (Spike Island), and Simon Halfon (Sleuth), with executive producer Asif Kapadia (Senna/Amy).

It is entirely made up of archive material and though the band do not appear on screen they and their former management have been interviewed about this formative period.

After Knebworth, Oasis became international superstars, but the film hopes to paint the Gallaghers as lads shaped by the Irish community and the city they grew up in.

Researchers are now on the look out for personal photographs and film footage of the band’s childhood and back stage at early Manchester gigs, as well as pictures and memorabilia from their Maine Road shows just months before Knebworth.

They are also calling out to the Manchester Irish community for home movies that show what life was like for young people in Burnage when the Gallaghers were children - including christenings and school plays.

They need submissions in by early January and will return all items, as well as pay to use rare footage. All material can be sent to researcher Hannah Green on hannah.oasisfilm@gmail.com.

Hannah said: “The film will be about those early years, about the foundations of the band up to them hitting the big time in 1996.

“We want to set the whole scene of where the Gallaghers come from: their Irish background, the football games they played, the bands they were in.

“We don’t have much from their period as The Rain (before Noel joined Oasis), so we would particularly like to have photos or tickets from that time.”

Noel Gallagher revealed he saw the end up Brit Pop before it fizzled out.

The songwriter's former group Oasis were the biggest band to emerge from the rock sub genre than came from the UK in the 90s and although it was a very special time for music he knew it was the end era.

He said: ''It was an anniversary of something recently and somebody showed me a list of the album chart back them and in one week, it was Oasis, The Verve The Manics, Pulp and Blur, were like at least five of the top ten, and had been for most of that year. And I felt, I remember saying at the time that that era was the end of something, that that would be the last time that something like that would happen. There just isn't that culture any more. I have a 15-year-old daughter who is like, 'Albums? They take too much time just give me the track man.'

''I guess it was the end of pop music as we knew it and then the internet came along and bingo.''

Meanwhile, the 48-year-old musician added that he was inspired to write albums with B sides by the soul and rock groups of the '60s, such as The Kinks, The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys.

He told Steve Lamaq on BBC Radio Six: ''We were all derived from, maybe not so much The Manics, but we certainly were derived from those pop records and The Verve were the same and Blur probably.''

19 December 2015

Noel Gallagher joins Steve with a sack full of tunes to DJ an imaginary Christmas Party... and there's not a sleigh bell in sight. Expect sounds from The Velvet Underground and The Animals, served up alongside some crackers listeners might not have heard before from The Kitkats, Gino with Johnny The Greek and Kid Koala.

Steve will chat to Noel about his latest projects as well as a look back at the past year. Expect to hear tales of Oasis, house parties and his reaction to his second solo album, Chasing Yesterday, going to number one. Plus Steve will be asking him about what he thought of the response to his appearance on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. And Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the annual Gallagher festive rant...

To listen to the show click here, skip to around 52 minutes into the show.

When Oasis played their sold-out Madison Square Gardens gig on December 18th 2008, photographer Josh Cheuse filmed Noel performing an exclusive acoustic version of 'Waiting For The Rapture' in an unusual backstage location.

"Whatever" is a single by British rock band Oasis, written by the band's lead guitarist Noel Gallagher. It was released on December 18th 1994 as a stand-alone single bridging the gap between Oasis' debut album, Definitely Maybe, and their second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. "Whatever" entered the UK Singles Chart at #3, their first single to enter the top 5. The strings were played by the London Session Orchestra, arranged by Nick Ingham and Noel Gallagher.

The song joins the infectious pop-rock melodies of Definitely Maybe with the more sophisticated lyrics of (What's the Story) Morning Glory, preaching universal tolerance and the acceptance of all ideas and beliefs in a typically straightforward, Mancunian way. The first lines ("I'm free to be whatever I/Whatever I choose/And I'll sing the blues if I want") may have been Noel's reaction to his father's insistence that he join the building trade.

"Whatever" was released as a contender for the coveted position of Christmas #1, 1994
It is a testament to Noel Gallagher's all-conquering self confidence that he should predict "Whatever"'s success before he was even given a record contract, saying "In the beginning, there was a masterplan, to the extent that I knew that 'Whatever,' one of the first songs I ever wrote, would be a Christmas Top Five hit, but I think anyone who heard the song could have told you that."

When Oasis performed the song for Top of the Pops, they mimed and one of the cello players from the symphony was replaced by Bonehead, who clearly had no idea how his instrument is supposed to be played. Towards the end of the song, he gave up the pretense and started using the bow to conduct. A woman plays his rhythm guitar. The song was introduced by Damon Albarn of Blur who would later famously feud with Oasis. As Albarn introduced the song, the Gallagher brothers made hand gestures behind him, which only served to heighten the feud between the bands.

"Whatever" has been performed live by Oasis many times, sometimes with the ambitious symphony which accompanies the single version, sometimes without. They often end live versions of the song with lyrics adapted from the Beatles song "Octopus's Garden." They have also been known to add the lines "All the young blues....carry the news...", in reference to the Mott the Hoople song "All The Young Dudes". The "blues" are the fans of the Gallaghers' beloved Manchester City F.C.. At their famous performances at Knebworth in August 1996, the song was accompanied throughout by harmonica player Mark Feltham and is generally regarded by fans as one of the highlights of their set.

The B-Sides of "Whatever" were quite famous as well. One of them, "Slide Away" was already featured on their debut album, Definitely Maybe. The other two - "(It's Good) To Be Free" and "Half the World Away" - were later featured on The Masterplan, a collection of Oasis's best b-sides. "Slide Away" and "Half the World Away" would also be featured on Oasis' 2006 "best of" album Stop the Clocks, although "Whatever" itself was not included.

'Whatever' spent a total of 50 weeks in the UK Singles chart, more than any Oasis single to date.

17 December 2015

Rock star Noel Gallagher has called on the government to "sort out" the secondary ticketing market.

He was speaking after Sir Elton John said he would "rather have empty seats" at a venue then see fans pay "extortionate" prices on sites that promise access to sold out shows.

"I'm with Elton," Gallagher told BBC Radio 5 live. "People shouldn't really pay over the odds, but they do."

"You get forged tickets on those things as well. It's a terrible thing"

The former Oasis star said that, as long as the re-sale of concert tickets was legal, "it's going to carry on".

"You need the government to sort it out," he added.

Last month, the government welcomed comments on secondary ticketing as part of a review of the market.

Among the artists to get involved were Coldplay, Radiohead and Blur, as well as the managers of One Direction and Ed Sheeran, who signed a joint letter campaigning against "the increasing industrial-scale abuse and insider exploitation of tickets for music, arts and sports events by ticket touts, and their online associates and facilitators."

"Tens of thousands of fans have been ripped off by people who exploit fair ticket prices via so-called ticket marketplaces," the letter added.

16 December 2015

Noel Gallagher's recent trashing of the boyband has really got on Liam Payne's goat, so much so that he has declared that the Wonderwall hitmaker is "sad".

The Oasis legend took a pop at One Direction and fellow stars Adele and Ellie Goulding during a rant about the current state of the music industry. He even went as far to describe Payne, Niall Horan, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson as "c***s***ers"

Speaking about the comments on BBC Radio 1's Superstar Playlist Payne accused Gallagher of being two-faced after a recent friendly meeting.

"The funny thing was, I met him the day the story came out," he said. "I didn't know it was coming out, and he came up and said, 'All right, mate? How are you doing?'

"I was like, 'Fine thanks, mate. Nice to meet you'. The next day I read the story and thought, 'How sad is that?' He completely dissed us. Nice to diss your fans, isn't it?"

He added: "It's sad because they genuinely led me to a path of singing. That's something they should be genuinely proud of."

"They don't think before they speak. You never know who was a fan of your music. Especially when you were as big as they were. Do it with grace. Good old Noel, bless him.

Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn are at it again. No, not falling out – making music together.

The pair put aside their Britpop rivalry two years ago and made music history by joining together on stage for charity.

And fans who thought such a miracle was just a one-off could not be more wrong.

I’m told that the Oasis and Blur pair are teaming up again this weekend for a special performance at one of 2015’s biggest rock ’n’ roll parties. Damon has invited Noel to join him on stage for Clash bassist Paul Simon's 60th birthday bash.

You can only imagine how that is going to end once they’ve hit the free bar.

A music insider said: “Damon and Noel get on really well these days and have put all their differences behind them. Noel loves playing no matter where it is and it was an easy yes when Damon asked if he wanted to play guitar with him this weekend. There’s a whole load of rock stars invited, so no doubt a bunch of the other guests will end up on stage, too.” Noel and Damon were arch enemies back in the Nineties when Oasis and Blur went head to head in the charts.

But they performed together for the first time at a gig for the Teenage Cancer Trust in 2013 alongside Graham Coxen and Paul Weller.

And I told this summer how the pair are even planning to get into the studio for a joint session.

Noel Gallagher's Half The World Away might be everywhere at the moment thanks to the John Lewis Christmas ad , but the former Oasis star says he's quite happy to "ram it down people's throats"... maybe at least until it charts anyway.

Speaking to Chris Moyles at the Radio X Road Trip, who asked if he'd be playing the track, he replied: "I'd say as it's getting caned in the charts, I might even play it twice!"

He added: "As I might have a passing interest in it, I might ram it down people's throats until January 1st, and then you might never hear it again."

Noel and his High Flying Birds delighted fans on the Radio X Road Trip with Chris Moyles together with O2.

Playing songs from his eponymous debut and this year's No. 1 Chasing Yesterday album the star treated his fans to an intimate set at the O2 Apollo Manchester on Wednesday 2 December.

As well as playing solo hits in Everybody's On The Run and In The Heat Of The Moment, Gallagher treated fans to a selection of Oasis favourites, including Champagne Supernova, The Masterplan, Don't Look Back In Anger and Definitely Maybe track Digsy's Dinner.

Speaking to Chris Moyles before the show, Noel said of the legendary Manchester venue: "I saw my very first gig here: The Damned in 1979. I saw my second gig here: Stiff Little Fingers. And I saw my fifth gig here, which was U2.

"I used to work in a pet shop over the road. I'm not joking. Tahiti Aquariums, it was called. I used to mend fishtanks."

True to his word, the Ballad Of The Mighty I singer then sang a moving performance of Half The World Away- much to the delight of the crowd.

Noel had support from collaborator, friend and fellow Mancunian Johnny Marr, who treated the crowd to an energetic set, with a sprinkling of The Smiths hits, including Panic, How Soon Is Now and There is A Light That Never Goes Out.

Mr Gallagher continued: "I've never had a bad gig in Manchester. Apart from those three years where we went unnoticed."

Also on the bill were young Scottish band Neon Waltz and Pretty Vicious from Wales.

Noel Gallagher is the father of modern Brit rock; the mixture of songwriting style, soundscape and appeal for broad audiences he pursued with Oasis influenced the scene that later gave birth to Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys, The Killers (born in the US, bred in the UK), The Verve, Travis and Stereophonics, who all consequently influenced a newer generation. In the 90s Oasis took the rock sceptre, stolen by Nirvana, and brought it back to England.

Although the Manchester band broke up in 2009, they still cast a shadow over Noel Gallagher’s successful solo career, which everybody respects but also secretly believes to be a filler until he reunites with his brother.

“This one is dedicate to all the Oasis fans,” he says before beginning to play the melancholic uptempo You Know We Can’t Go Back – a clear message to his fans.

However, the concert began way before that, because Noel Gallagher wasn’t only the headliner tonight but also the support act, which he played in an acoustic version with his right-hand man (and former Oasis guitarist) Gem Archer.

Between the two sets, Gallagher played numerous hits from the band and his two solo albums. Highlights of the night are Slide Away (acoustic), Lock All the Doors, Whatever and If I Had a Gun. This year what used to be a fan favourite, Half the World Away, cleverly utlised by John Lewis for their Christmas advert, is now a charting hit that everyone sings along. “I leave you with this. Merry fucking Christmas.”

In a sold-out Royal Albert Hall, stage for his pre-Christmas show ahead of the 2016 tour, the encore serves as a third act.

“It’s been an absolutely dream-come-true to play with myself tonight. A privilege, a honour. Give it it up to the support anyway, they were fucking brilliant,” he jokes with his trademark humour. The Masterplan opens the finale which is a tight sequence of hits: AKA…What a Life and the timeless masterpiece Don’t Look Back in Anger.

Noel Gallagher teased his fans were "freeloaders" during his acoustic set for BBC Radio 2 on Monday night (07.12.15).

The 48-year-old rocker performed an intimate show at the BBC Radio Theatre in London, and joked that the 400 strong crowd were cheap-skates because they were getting to watch him sing for free.

Taking a break to chat to the audience, he said: "So, competition winners eh? Was it a random draw or did you have to answer a question? So you didn't have to have any knowledge at all. How does that make you feel? Can't be as bad as me."

Noel was joined by his former Oasis bandmate Gem Archer - who formed the now-defunct Beady Eye with Liam Gallagher following the demise of the super-group - and he introduced the guitarist as "my former right-hand man, who is now my left-hand man".

Crouched over his guitar, sat in the middle of the stage, Noel was flanked by two guitars and backed by three saxophonists and a keyboard player.

His relaxed style and cool temperament mesmerised the eager crowd, who were on tender-hooks as the rocker paced himself through a mixture of Oasis classics and B-sides such as '(It's Good) To Be Free', 'Talk Tonight' and 'D'Yer Wanna Be A Spaceman?', 'Wonderwall' and 'Slide Away' and songs from his solo career such as 'The Death of You and Me', 'If I Had A Gun...' and 'AKA... What a Life!'.

As one fan shouted "stand up we can't see you!" Noel quipped: "I haven't got a guitar strap. If it wasn't going out on the telly I'd be calling you something other than James Blunt."

Noel closed his set with his best-loved song 'Don't Look Back In Anger' which prompted a singalong from the few hundred fans watching.

Noel Gallagher setlist:

'(It's Good) To Be Free'
'Talk Tonight'
'The Death Of You And Me'
'If I Had A Gun...'
'D'Yer Wanna Be A Spaceman?'
'Listen Up'
'Sad Song'
'The Importance of Being Idle'
'Cast No Shadow'
'Half The World Away'
'Slide Away'
'Wonderwall'
'AKA... What a Life!'
'Don't Look Back In Anger'

NME reports that during an interview on BBC Radio 2 last night, Noel Gallagher expressed regret that Oasis broke up. The band parted ways in 2009 and Gallagher has said there’s only about one percent chance they ever get back together.

He said: “Leaving Oasis – that was a horrible night [in Paris, 2009]. I knew that it was going to be a decision that would follow me around – there’s still not a day where I don’t read something about us getting back together – so I knew what I was getting myself into. [It was the right thing to do], definitely. What Oasis had in its future was to do bigger tours and generate more money, which is great. I wasn’t planning on going solo, but it was such a mess that I was happier off [doing that]. I wish – this is all in hindsight – that we hadn’t broken up. That we all agreed we’d all do different things, and then one day we’d all get back together – but it all got vicious, and I wish it had been handled differently. But I don’t have too many regrets.”

He also spoke about his relationship with Liam Gallagher, which is strained. He mentioned that the two won’t be seeing each other at Christmas. He added: “It’s difficult for people to understand that to be in a working relationship for 20 years with someone you’re so close with is really difficult. And there’s a whole mess that’s gone on around it. But I’ve no doubt that, one day, it’ll be all OK again.“

Noel Gallagher has said that he is not interested in seeing The Stone Roses live unless the band record a new album.

Noel spoke to Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 2 last night, as part of an acoustic concert that saw him play a set leaning heavily on his Oasis back catalogue.

With John Squire having joined Gallagher to perform 'Champage Supernova' at Knebworth in 1996, Gallagher was asked if he might join Stone Roses on stage at any of their gigs in Manchester next year.

"I'd love to see Ian Brown sing 'Champagne Supernova'," Gallagher joked. "If they asked, yeah, but I'm not planning to go to the gigs. I didn't really go to the last ones. I did a few gigs with them. If they're going to make a new record I'd go and see that but I've seen them before."